Fox Nabs Animated Comedy from Bleacher Report Duo

Fox is continuing to grow its animation roster.

The broadcast network has given a series order to a show with the working title of Universal Basic Guys/The Hoagie Bros. from creators Adam and Craig Malamut. The show, slated to premiere in 2024, is a co-production between Fox Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television, with Fox’s Bento Box Entertainment as the animation studio. The Malamut brothers are Bleacher Report alumni who established the animation unit at the Warner Bros. Discovery property.

“Adam and Craig are two of the boldest and most irreverent voices I know,” Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn said in a statement. “This series’ distinct point of view could only come from a talented multi-hyphenate team that writes, animates and voices their work like no one else. And in the tradition of the incredible creators who have been a part of our storied Animation Domination lineup, the Malamuts have an intrepid DIY mentality that has allowed them to create some of the funniest and most surprising characters we’ve seen in a long time.”

The series will follow brothers Mark and Hank Hoagies, who lose their jobs when the hot dog factory in their hometown of Glantontown switches to automated production. Fortunately for them, the town has also started a universal basic income pilot program, giving all residents $3,000 a month. Mark, Hank and their friends are once again like kids in the summer, with a dangerous combination of free time and stupid ideas.

The Malamut brothers, who will executive produce the series, are self-taught animators whose first show, Sports Friends, ran on Yahoo Screen. They then moved on to Bleacher Report, creating, directing, writing and voicing shows including Game of Zones (which earned several Sports Emmy Award nominations) and The Champions. During their time there, they grew the animation department from just the two of them to a staff of 25.

The Malamut brothers’ show joins a slate of upcoming animated series at Fox that includes Dan Harmon’s Krapopolis and the Jon Hamm-led Grimsbrug. A series based on Berkeley Breathed’s beloved comic strip Bloom County is also in development. The network is pushing to make shows it partially or wholly owns as its legacy animated cornerstones — The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers, all now owned by Disney — are all up for renewal at the end of the 2022-23 season.